In One Day!
by SquickWrites
Summary: He looked endlessly bitter, and he was wearing a hat in the shade, and why was he wearing a puffy vest in the middle of summer? He didn't make sense. He was a walking contradiction. He was the only other boy. They would have to associate, by like, unspoken law of uncomfortable preteens.


**Literally a year ago someone asked for a fanfic relating to Some Nights. I got distracted by the first line of the song. This has no relation to any part of the song. Except the first line. And that's a stretch.**

* * *

_Some Nights I stay up, cashing in my bad luck. Some Nights I call it a draw._

Norman did not know how to feel about sharing a room with a complete stranger. Or, no, he felt uncomfortable. He was sure of that much. But he knew that this was camp, and he knew that this was what he signed up for, so he _knew_ he should have felt better about it.

He had begged his parents to let him go to this Gravity Falls Summer Camp, because he'd heard tons of stories and myths about the place. Between dinosaurs, and sea monsters, and minotaurs, the legends around this place never stopped. And he would take up any excuse to get here – even this one.

There were actually a lot of red flags about this 'camp' thing. His parents had been a little worried about the fact that this was the camp's first year. But Norman managed to get them past that, claiming that this just meant everything was still _new._ But then there was also the fact that most of the ad was a plug for this 'Mystery Shack' place, but they figured that was just part of the attraction. Or even, maybe, the fact that no meals would be provided. Also, there were no listed camp activities, or counselors. No names, really. Just address the check to the Mystery Shack, and you were all set up.

But Norman _really_ wanted to go. And he'd saved up his allowance. And his parents had always encouraged him to try for new experiences.

So _really_, things weren't _that_ bad.

And, when he got there, they weren't. Oregon was literally across the country, so it had taken an extensive plane trip, an extensive plane ride, and even an extensive bus ride for the Babcocks (minus Courtney, who had weaseled her way out of the family field trip) to finally get to Gravity Falls. His mother was taken by the scenery in an instant, and how quaint and old the town felt. His father was not nearly as impressed. He was angry and cranky about having to sit on different means of transportation for the last ten hours.

These two factors really worked in Norman's favor, because when his parents saw that there were only four other campers, Norman's mother thought it would make the camp all the more intimate, and his father was not willing to have taken this ten hour trip for no reason.

Lovely goodbyes were spoken, and his parents couldn't escape fast enough. After a quick introduction to Stan Pines, who put up a mildly acceptable reputation for the Babcocks, Mrs. Babcock gave her son a few reassuring words, and a kiss on the cheek. Mr. Babcock ushered out a slap on the back, and mumbled something that was probably kind. Then he kneeled down to his son, and looked him dead in the eye:

"Try to make a few friends here, okay? They're across the country, but you can still try."

To which Norman just replied:

"Yeah, sure, dad. I'll try."

Because really, he couldn't make any promises. It had taken him eleven years to make even one lasting friend back home. How could he be expected to make any here, in two weeks or less? But if his dad wanted him to try, he could at least do that much.

So finally, the Babcocks waved to their little boy, climbed into their station wagon, and were on their way.

Once they were gone, Stan Pines was too. He spouted something about getting back to work, donned an eyepatch, and disappeared into the infamous 'mystery shack'.

Norman took this opportunity to scope out his fellow campers.

Standing across from him were four campers, all around his age. There were three girls, and one boy. One Asian girl, short and thin with long black hair and glasses. Her smile was pleasant enough, and her green sweater didn't exactly look threatening. She didn't seem like a mean person.

Next to her was another girl, much taller, and stockier than any of the other kids. Her brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and the look on her face was stern. While she looked intimidating, something about her pink 'COOL' tshirt said otherwise, and made her seem more offputtng than scary.

The other two were a brown-haired boy and girl who looked exactly alike; except, he girl was probably a little taller than the boy. And the girl had this really big, goofy smile on her face, where the boy was kind of scowling. Something about the girl was appealing – maybe the braces, or the blue sweater with absolutely nothing but an orange exclamation point. She seemed the safest of the bunch.

Her duplicate was the scariest of all. Mostly because he looked endlessly bitter, and he was wearing a hat in the shade, and why was he wearing a puffy vest in the middle of summer? He didn't make sense. He was a walking contradiction. He was the only other boy. They would have to associate, by like, unspoken law of uncomfortable preteens.

For a second, Norman wondered how he looked to the others. He raised his eyebrows. He tried to smile. He lifted his hand to wave.

The girls kind of waved back. The other boy squinted at him.

The female replica threw her hand up in the air as she stepped forward, somehow smiling a little wider than before.

"Okay! Let's get this out of the way before things get any more uncomfortable." She gestured to herself. "I'm Mabel. I like sweaters and boy bands."

Nobody else said anything, so Mabel elbowed the large girl in the gut. "Grenda." she spat out instantly. "I have an iguana."

The Asian girl piped up right after. "Candy Chiu!" She paused, glancing down for a split second. "I take photos."

And right then, Norman knew what he had to do. It was now or never. He had to do it. So he gripped the straps of his backpack, bit his lip, and rocked back onto his heels. He had to be fast. He had to do it now.

"Cool."

The air grew stale with silence.

_Come on, Norman. You can do it._

"I like iguanas."

Still nothing.

_One more. Just one more and you've done it. You've met your quota for the day. Just one more._

"And," He hesitated. "Your sweater looks awesome."

That was it. He did it. He had succeeded, in his book. Nice job, Norman. Great.

Everything felt so, so quiet.

At long last, Mabel's face scrunched up into this weird, miniature smile. "Thanks, you're adorable."

Norman did not know what to do with that comment, so he just tried a little harder to smile.

Mabel jabbed a thumb in her replica's direction. "That's the twin. Dipper." She itched closer to Norman, plopping a hand on his shoulder. "He isn't really into this whole friend thing yet. Just let him warm up to you, it gets better."

Dipper somehow managed to shrug violently. "Mabel? I really don't need you to-"

"No, Dipper." She hushed her twin. "I'm helping you."

_You can do one more Norman, you made it this far._

Norman leaned around Mabel, waving once more. "Hi. I'm Norman."

Mabel gasped. "Your name's Norman?!" she exhaled quickly. "You're just the cutest."

Norman tweaked his head to the side, still not really sure how to handle that.

"Mabel, you're scaring him." Dipper huffed out.

"That's okay!" She latched onto his hand. "Let's go get lunch!"

And Norman was surprised, because he didn't have to think before he spoke. "Okay."

That one word was kind of astounding to him.

By the end of the day, Norman had considered himself more than a success. He knew that whenever Mabel called him cute, he should just laugh, or thank her. He knew that all of the campers were already acquainted with each other. He knew that Mabel and Dipper were Stan's great niece and nephew, spending the summer here in Gravity Falls.

Norman also got the vibe that there really _was_ something weird about Gravity Falls. Like, he'd heard of the rumors, and he'd read up on them online, but there was something in the way that the other campers smirked at each other when they talked about the most normal of topics that kind of put Norman on edge.

Things like, how they all broke into laughter when they talked about Halloween, and how they all cringed when they talked about this 'Gideon' kid, who was apparently next door to the shack.

A part of him felt a bit left out, but for the most part, he felt like there was a mystery. And really, he liked that. So when they all returned to the Mystery Shack as the sun was setting, Norman felt a little closer to them than he had before.

But then the next issue arose. It had always been somewhere in the back of his mind, but then, standing there in the Mystery Shack before a weary (god knows why) Stan Pines, the thought practically sprinted to the front. They would all have to sleep eventually, and there was no doubt that Norman would be sleeping in the same room as Dipper. And while Dipper had proven himself a... _decent_ kind of guy, in all honesty, Norman would have felt twelve times as comfortable sharing a room with Mabel, eight times with Candy, and six times with Grenda. Dipper wasn't _bad_ but – he hadn't exactly made a valiant effort to befriend Norman.

But in all fairness, Norman hadn't tried any harder...

Well, sure, he'd put in effort by his _own_ standards, but how much did that even add up to in other people's worlds? Probably not much.

So who was he to judge, _really_?

No one, he'd convinced himself.

So when Mabel claimed the new break room as the girls' dorm, and Dipper didn't put up much of a fight, Norman didn't either. Mabel had nudged Norman, grinning at the fact the the boys would get 'their old room' (apparently the girls had some pre-meditated plan to sleep in a room with no beds so they could all use sleeping bags), and that he shouldn't worry too much about Dipper.

Norman just nodded and half smiled, but he didn't feel much better.

Partially because Dipper was already gone.

He tugged on Mabel's sleeve. "Um, hey Mabel?"

"Yeah?"

Norman glanced to the floor, biting his lip. "Sorry, but I- uh, I don't know where to go."

"Oh, what?" Mabel looked around. "Dang it, Dipper." She said. In all seriousness. Dang it.

She grabbed his hand. "Come on, buddy." She turned to him with a smile. "We're gonna get you all set up."

And with that, she started trudging through the room, and down the hall. She called to her friends. "Hey, you guys can go ahead without me, I gotta sort some stuff out." And then she got this really serious look on her face, and dragged Norman up the stairs.

Once they reached the door that was their goal, Mabel held up a hand to stop Norman, and slid into the room. He is still not sure of what happened in there, but there was a lot of low mumbling, some teeth clenching, some restrained almost-shouting, and a lot of sighing. This was more than a _little _discouraging to hear, but he had to keep his head up. It's just the first day. Mabel seemed to like him enough. And so did Grenda _and_ Candy. Three out of four wasn't bad. He could do this.

Mabel exited the room, and opened the door for him. So, with his confidence slightly bruised (but hey, it existed), he entered the room. Mabel slammed the door behind him. He jumped.

"Hi, Dipper." Norman tried again.

The look on Dipper's face was just kind of dead, but at least it wasn't... unhappy. He looked to Norman, and waved the same way that Norman had that morning. Kind of, but not really, sort of awkward. "Hey, Norman."

Norman walked to his bed, carefully avoiding Dipper, and dropped his backpack to the floor.

Conversation. Make small talk. Come on, you can do this.

"So you're vacationing here?" He tried. He was trying so hard.

Dipper took his hat off his head, hanging it on a bedpost. "Yeah. Grunkle Stan. We help out at the shop."

Norman could pursue this. "And you like it?"

Dipper glanced up at Norman. "Uh – it's pretty cool."

"Cool." Oh god. Don't let it die. You gotta keep it going. "So, what's the best part of, uh, Gravity Falls?"

"It's just, uh," Dipper squinted at Norman as he sat on his bed. "Why?"

"No reason!" Norman spat out instantly.

Oh god. Oh _god_. What had he done. This was all going downhill so quickly.

"Bye." Norman added.

What?

What do you mean by 'bye'?

"Where are you going?" Dipper asked, raising a brow.

Norman stared straight into Dipper's eyes. "To bed."

"I- oh." Dipper grimaced a bit. "Okay?"

Norman didn't say anything else. He got into the bed and turned to face the wall.

Dipper leaned forward a bit. "Aren't you gonna-"

"I need to go change." Norman practically ran out of the room.

Then he ran back to get his bag, stared at Dipper, then ran out again.

Oh _god_.

When Norman returned, the lights were out, and Dipper was already tucked into his bed. At that sight, at that very moment, all Norman's hopes of befriending the only other boy in camp were completely dashed. Oh what misery would ensue! How could he live this life of loneliness! (Even though the others _did _seem to like him.) Woe was he! Woe was _he_!

Norman dropped his backpack, and crawled into his bed to look at the wall, and he laid there for a good hour or so. Then he flipped onto his back, and waited another twenty minutes. Then he flipped again to face the middle of the room, and -

His eyes met Dipper's.

The two boys just stared at each other.

This was weird. This was really weird.

Uh.

"I take it you can't sleep?" Dipper finally posed the question.

Norman laughed stiffly. "...Yeah. How could you tell."

"Between you sighing for the last hour and a half and the constant tossing and turning – I haven't been out much either."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Sorry."

"Nah man, it's-" He hesitated. "It's cool."

Norman did not know what to do.

Dipper decided to try this time. "So you're from..?"

"Blythe Hollow. Massachusetts." Norman pulled his covers up a bit. "Really far away."

"Uh-huh. And you like it there?"

In light of recent events, things were definitely better. So he replied, "It's pretty okay. We've got witches, and stuff."

"What?" Dipper asked quickly.

Norman realised that this probably sounded weird. "Uh, the town is really into witches. It's kind of... strange, I guess."

"Not really." Dipper replied, flipping to look at the ceiling. "I've got a totally new set of standards for weird nowadays."

Norman paused. He glanced at the clock. It was 11:36. He had twenty-four minutes. He could do it.

"Why?"

Dipper's eyes widened. "Huh?"

One more. "Why do you have... new standards?"

Dipper shook his head, turning away from Norman. "You wouldn't believe any of it."

Norman propped himself up on his elbow, daring to try a bit more. "I've read stuff about legends here online. I'm pretty into that kind of thing so – that's why I asked my parents to let me come to this... 'camp', thing."

Norman couldn't see Dipper's face, but the way the brunette's head perked convinced him that he was headed down the right track.

"Stuff about time travel, and magic, and even – even suspended animation, I saw once."

And finally, Dipper sat up straight, and looked at Norman again. "And you believe all that junk?"

Norman sat up too, shrugging. "Why not?"

"You're serious?"

"Yeah?"

"Even if I said all that stuff was real, you wouldn't think I was crazy?"

"No?"

Dipper grew quiet as he stared hard at Norman, studying him for a second.

"It's real." Dipper finally said, as though he hadn't been alluding to that the entire time.

"I kind of guessed that." Norman bit his lip. "Sounds fun."

"Scarier than it is fun."

"I can understand that."

"We've seen a lot."

Norman gripped his covers. "I wouldn't mind seeing some."

Norman half expected Dipper to be annoyed by that, but instead he said, "Maybe if we find some of the less dangerous ones."

"I've got nothing against danger."

Dipper resorted to staring again.

"I really don't?"

"And you come from a town obsessed with witches?" Dipper asked.

"Yeah." Norman nodded. "There's this old legend about a witch buried in the town."

"Is there really a witch buried there?"

"Would you believe me if I said yes?"

"Would you believe me if I said there were dinosaurs living under Gravity Falls?"

"Probably."

"I'd probably believe you."

"Zombies?"

"A copier that makes living clones?"

And then Norman started to laugh. "You win this round, Pines."

"I thought I would." Dipper leaned back onto his pillow. "You gotta have more to offer if you're gonna take me on."

Norman laid back down, shrugging as he spoke. "I see ghosts."

And the second the words escaped his mouth, he was filled with regret. Because things had felt natural for a few seconds, and he'd ruined it. He knew he'd destroyed it. He could feel everything crashing around him. This was a disaster. Why did he have to tell the truth. His only option was to jump out the window.

"Really?" Dipper finally asked.

Norman didn't answer. He was trying to be Dipper's friend – lying; he couldn't lie to him now. But he couldn't confirm that he was, descended from witches or, whatever he was.

Dipper realised that he wouldn't get a response, and tried to ease the tension. "There's nothing wrong with that?"

Norman's sighs were never intentional. They just kind of happened. Another one escaped him as he turned to face the wall again.

Dipper laid down as well, facing Norman's back. "Can we make a deal?"

Norman turned his head a bit in Dipper's direction. He figured that, in most cases, anyone else would have given up on him by now. But Dipper was still talking, and still trying, and Dipper had given him a chance, so he should give him one too. Right?

"I'll show you some of my crazy stuff – and then you can tell me about yours." Dipper smiled a bit as he closed his eyes. "Sound good?"

Norman pulled the covers up over his head, and Dipper was about ready to give in, when a quiet voice finally said:

"Deal."

Dipper's eyes snapped open. "We can start with the copier. It's downstairs."

"Outside of my house, there's this pilot lady whose plane crashed. She was impaled by a tree. Still there." Norman shivered, realising how terrifying that sounded.

And Dipper was a little shaken up by that, and he could only imagine how shaken up Norman had probably been by that, so he tried a little harder. "Let's go in another direction before we get to that one."

Norman shrugged, and Dipper could hardly make out the outline of the motion from under the blanket. "Zombies or witches first?"

Something about that made Dipper laugh. "We should sleep on it."

"Yeah, okay."

"Night, Norman."

"Night, Dipper."

But before Norman even tried to go to sleep, he glanced up at the clock one last time.

11:59.

Just made it.


End file.
